GARDEN GROVE : Series of Collisions Kill One Motorist

A woman slowing down to avoid a stranded car on the Garden Grove Freeway was killed when another motorist struck her from behind in one of a series of collisions involving four cars which left another man seriously injured early Friday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.

The series of accidents, which blocked eastbound traffic for more than four hours, began at 5:10 a.m., when Crystian Adolfo Pivaral, 20, of Santa Ana attempted to exit the freeway at Euclid Street. He later told officers that he had swerved to avoid a passing vehicle that blocked his exit, Officer Joan Rivas said.

Pivaral told police that he lost control of his car, which veered left and struck the center divider wall. Pivaral left the car jutting halfway onto the No. 1 lane and walked toward the right shoulder of the freeway, across three lanes, Rivas said.

Verdugo Zarina, 22, of Westminster, slowed to avoid Pivaral’s car at 5:12 a.m. and was struck from behind by a car driven by Manuel Flores Felix, 39, of Westminster, Rivas said.

The impact was so severe that it pushed the back end of Zarina’s car into the front seat. She died on impact, Rivas said.

Felix, driving at a high speed, then veered toward the right and struck a car driven by Nathan John Jones, 20, of Huntington Beach. Jones’ car then struck Pivaral’s disabled car in the No. 1 lane, Rivas said.

Jones was not injured, but Felix suffered “moderate to major” injuries to the chest and was taken to Garden Grove Hospital and Medical Center, Rivas said. Hospital officials did not return phone calls regarding Felix’s condition.

One person who witnessed the first crash said that Pivaral was driving at “a very high rate of speed” when he crashed into the center divider, Rivas said.

Police are still investigating the incident, and anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to contact the CHP at (714) 892-4426.